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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BRASILIA 002352 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/07/2016 
TAGS: PREL BR
SUBJECT: BRAZIL: AMBASSADOR SOBEL PRESENTS CREDENTIALS TO 
PRESIDENT LULA, 7 NOVEMBER 2006 
 
 
Classified By: ACTING DCM DENNIS HEARNE. REASONS: 1.4 (B)(D). 
 
¶1. (C) Summary. Ambassador Sobel, who arrived in Brazil in 
August, presented his credentials to President Lula da Silva 
on 7 November, in a ceremony long delayed by Brazil's 
election campaign season.  The 30-minute meeting with Lula 
was positive and substantive, with warm atmospherics.  Prior 
to the credential ceremony, Lula,s chief of staff, Gilberto 
Carvalho, greeted the Ambassador personally, then later 
arranged for Mrs. Sobel to enter the meeting room for photos 
with Lula.  Through these gestures and Lula,s remarks in the 
meeting, we received a continuation of the message we have 
been getting from the GOB since Lula,s re-election -- the 
GOB wants to refocus on and intensify relations with us. Key 
points of the meeting follow in para 2.  End summary. 
 
¶2. (C) Ambassador Sobel, along with ambassadors from Namibia, 
Vietnam and Mexico, presented credentials on 7 November at 
Planalto Palace. (Note: Brazil's foreign ministry (MRE) 
organizes presentation of ambassadorial credentials into 
groups of four, based on order of arrival in country. End 
note.)  All of the 7 November group had been waiting several 
months for the credentials ceremony, owing to repeated delays 
caused by Brazil's presidential election season, which 
concluded with Lula's re-election victory on 29 October. Each 
ambassador met separately with Lula, who determined the 
length of the conversation.  Lula conversed with Ambassador 
for approximately 30 minutes, and was accompanied by Foreign 
Minister Celso Amorim and Presidential foreign policy advisor 
Marco Aurelio Garcia.  Ambassador was accompanied in the 
meeting by A/DCM and Management Counselor, and later joined 
by Mrs. Sobel for photos and to observe conclusion of the 
ceremony with Ambassador's review of the palace guard.  Key 
points of the meeting with Lula follow below: 
 
--Bio-fuels:  Lula led with this and stayed with the subject 
throughout the first part of the conversation with 
Ambassador.  Lula noted he had discussed bio-fuels 
extensively with President Bush.  Lula stressed Brazil,s 
desire for partnerships with the USG and American firms in 
this, calling it a transformational technology that could 
dramatically improve lives throughout the world. Lula noted 
Brazil is bringing on line a total of 93 distilleries for 
bio-fuel processing in the next years.  Ambassador Sobel 
confirmed President Bush's keen attention to the issue, and 
presented Lula with a photo, autographed by President Bush, 
from the G-8 St. Petersburg ministerial, where Lula presented 
information on Brazil's bio-fuels program to the President. 
Ambassador further explained that the USG continues to 
organize its interagency to address bio-fuels in a 
comprehensive policy format, and that Under Secretary Josette 
Sheeran recently had been given the USG lead on bio-fuels and 
is anxious to visit Brazil this year. 
 
--Visit to U.S.:  Lula noted that he spoken recently with 
President Bush, who asked him to visit the U.S.  Lula 
expressed a desire to visit soon, though he quipped that he 
worried about the cold in Washington.  Ambassador noted that 
he also had been in touch with the White House on the visit, 
and made himself available to Lula and his chief of staff to 
discuss windows of opportunity and venues. 
 
--Strategic relationship:  Lula noted that the GOB wants to 
send a new ambassador to Washington asap. (Note: Current MRE 
Under Secretary for Political Affairs Ambassador Antonio de 
Aguiar Patriota has been presented for agrement vice 
Ambassador Roberto Abdenur).  Lula seemed anxious to convey 
this as a positive signal.  Lula then made a strong and 
direct declaration: "We intend to take all steps necessary to 
make clear, beyond any doubt, that the U.S. and Brazil have a 
strategic relationship."  Ambassador welcomed this, and 
replied that the USG is not concerned with Brazil's 
"prioritization" of its relations with countries, but rather 
is focused on "what we can do together."  In response, Lula 
and Amorim simultaneously weighed in to dismiss media 
speculation that GOB foreign policy priorities remain focused 
on south-south relations.  Lula also noted that he wanted to 
re-invigorate the working groups established in various areas 
during his official visit to Washington at the beginning of 
 
BRASILIA 00002352  002 OF 002 
 
 
his first term. 
 
¶3. (C) Comment:  The reception at Planalto and the 
conversation with Lula could not have been more positive.  In 
the days following Lula's re-election, the signals continue 
to be clear and persistent that the GOB wants to move more 
our way in the second term.  But we will remain in wait and 
see mode for now, staying attentive to other developments 
that would indicate whether this charm offensive translates 
into a meaningful shift in foreign policy for Brazil. 
 
SOBEL